


Chrono Convergence

by GingerFloof



Series: Compy [2]
Category: Chrono Cross, Chrono Trigger, Half-Life, Portal (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Post-Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Relationship(s), Robot/Human Relationships, Romance, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-28
Updated: 2015-08-30
Packaged: 2018-03-26 03:20:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 17,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3835054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GingerFloof/pseuds/GingerFloof
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The third installment in the "Compy" series. GLaDOS, now known as Compy, sends the Borealis to her old ally, Lucca Ashtear. When the Combine steal the Frozen Flame, will it be an opportunity to make amends with her past, or will it doom all their worlds to destruction?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

I was losing my trust in Belthasar.

It all started when he told me about the Time Devourer. Apparently, when my friends and I had defeated Lavos, the alien bent on destroying our planet, we had shunted it into the Darkness Beyond Time. This Darkness was essentially a wastebasket for discarded timelines- anything that ceased to exist was sent there. But Lavos hadn’t been dormant in the Darkness. Instead it had evolved to a new and higher form- the Time Devourer, a being capable of destroying all time-space. Belthasar claimed that he had the threat under control, but I was skeptical.

“How can you prove that the Time Devourer is a threat in the first place when it doesn’t technically exist?” I would say.

“And I suppose you want it back then, Miss Ashtear? A being consumed with annihilating the entire space-time continua?” Belthasar lectured.  “No, young lady, I stopped it and my institution will continue to safeguard against such threats!”

That was the way he addressed me when I disagreed with him; I was ‘Miss Ashtear’ or ‘Young lady.’ Usually we were on a first name basis, but more and more often I found myself at odds with him.

As I stood in his office, I was determined that today would not be one of those days. Today was the day I was to showcase my project of the past several months for Belthasar. It was a day that would test both mine and Melodyne’s patience, as he was the underlying cause for the project having taken place at all.

“What is your designation?”

Melodyne coughed delicately to hide her surprise. Although I had told her that Belthasar was not quite past the antiquated customs of a robot always responding with “Sir” or “M’am,” having a _designation_ instead of a name- that seemed like objectifying her somehow.

“My _name_ ,” Melodyne answered, giving the second word a slight emphasis, “is Melodyne. Sir,” she barely remembered to tag the title onto the end of the sentence.

Belthasar frowned, as though unsure of what to make of this. “And you are…?”

“I am a blend of organic and synthetic life in the form of human brain scans transformed into A.I. and housed in a-”

But it was unnecessary to explain what her chassis was made from when Belthasar was ignoring her completely to ask me, “Human brain scans? So the experiments worked?”

With no small amount of pride, I answered, “Yes.”

“So there’s a _person_ in there?”

I was ready with the cover story. “A volunteer for the project who was killed in a jetbike accident recently.”

“I seeeee,” Belthasar was rubbing his chin. “So, how much does she remember of her previous life?”

“Everything that was scanned, sir.” Melodyne spoke up.

“And before that?”

“I have residual ‘memories of memories’ so to speak, so my human past remains intact-”

“Remarkable, remarkable! And is she forming new memories all the time?”

“Yes,” I answered and gave Melodyne a confidential eye-roll behind Belthasar’s back.

“Incredible! Lucca, do you see what you’ve done? You hold the keys to potential immortality for every man, woman and child on the face of this planet! Once they’ve outgrown their old bodies, their brain scans can be transferred to synthetic beings like this one. And I, for one” he said, patting me on the back jovially, “would like to volunteer to be a candidate.”

_I’m sure you would,_ I thought.

“Impressive work. I couldn’t be more pleased with you.”

“Sir. Sir?” Melodyne couldn’t quite get Belthasar’s attention as he bustled out of the room.

“What were you going to ask him?” I inquired, draping an arm around Melodyne’s waist.

“I was going to request formal permission to be your lab assistant.”

“Well, I hereby formally promote you. I have every right has much as he does to say who my lab assistant is. “

Melodyne smiled in satisfaction as I guided her out the doorway of Belthasar’s office. “So when do I start work?”

“Now,” I stated as I steered Melodyne down a corridor toward my own private laboratories. As Melodyne filed away the route in her memory banks for reference later, she happened to notice something out of place.

“I don’t think that person has the security clearance for this level,” she noted, spotting a tall man in a suit carrying- of all the outdated things! -a briefcase. Everyone she knew simply used a handheld device to store their documents.

“That _is_ strange,” I remarked, “I don’t think I’ve seen him around the labs before. Excuse me, sir?” I stepped up to the strange man and was paralyzed by his predatory stare, like a cobra might give a mouse right before it struck. He never glanced away as he adjusted his tie, brushed off his lapels, and intoned in a formal, somewhat mocking voice, “Congratulations, Miss Ashtear.”

I blinked and stammered, “Wh-what?” but the strange man with the intimidating glare was gone. I looked back at Melodyne, who seemed just as stymied. “Did you see where he went?”

“He vanished.”

“Very funny. Which way did he go?”

“I just told you, he didn’t; he just disappeared.”

The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.  “People don’t just ‘disappear,’ Melodyne, there has to be a scientific explanation for what we saw!”

Melodyne sighed. “This IS a research facility for multi dimensional and time travel, isn’t it? Couldn’t people be popping in and out of here all the time?”

“NOT without proper monitoring or consent.” I shivered. I ought to tell Belthasar. I ought to. And yet…

There had been something about the look in his eyes when he mentioned “potential immortality” that I didn’t like. Something almost manic. Was it safe to let him claim such untapped power?

“Come on, I said, mentally shaking myself,  “We’ll figure this out ourselves.”

The first thing I did upon entering the lab was run a search on all Chronopolis personnel to see if I could identify the man she had met in the corridor. The search turned up negative. I nearly pounded the console in frustration. My trust in Belthasar was starting to dissolve with every advance I made in my research, and now  unidentified strangers were popping up in the facility. Was there anything I could rely on anymore?

“Lucca?”

The soft inquiry snapped me out of my reverie. Melodyne was looking at me with concern.

“Are you all right? Your heart rate has increased and your breathing is becoming shallow and rapid… What I mean,” she continued when I gave a quiet laugh, “is you don’t look so good.”

“Mel, you need to learn not to sound so...robotic,” I smiled wanly.

“I know.” Melodyne ducked her head shyly.

“You’re my creation, but not my servant. I don’t want you to sound like…”

“A machine?”

“Right.”

There was a moment of silence, and the Melodyne asked, “Lucca, what is she like?”

“You mean...Melody?”

“I can only remember so much, and every decision, every action I’ve taken from the moment you woke me up has only taken me further from where I...where she started.”

“Then I have a feeling you’re going to like your assignment as my lab assistant.”

“What is it?” Melodyne asked, curiosity and hope both piqued.

“I’m technically not supposed to affect Melody’s sphere of influence on this dimension, at least not directly. But Belthasar said nothing about my lab assistant monitoring things.”

“You mean…”

“Melodyne, I want you to review Melody’s incoming brain scans and report whatever you find to me.”

“What kinds of things did you want me to report on, exactly?”

“I just…” My gaze dropped. “I need to know if I made the right decision. Leaving her with GLaDOS.”

I had modified my helmet further to make an interdimensional tele-empathic receptor, which I now handed over to her. “Is this…?” Melodyne asked.

“My helmet? Yeah. Like the new design?”

“I thought Belthasar had forbidden contact…”

My eyes filled with regret. “I have to have some secrets, don’t I? I already have you.”

She laid a hand on my shoulder, smiling wanly. She said nothing as she took the modified helmet.

I didn’t ask what exactly transpired during the monitoring, but I think it was the most at peace I’d seen Melodyne since I’d created her. She seemed serene, content, and utterly engrossed in whatever was happening. I watched fond smiles, broad grins, and even modest blushes chase themselves across her face as her eyelids fluttered and danced with images only she could see. At last, she disengaged from the receptor with a happy sigh. “Lucca,” she announced, as she began her report, “You definitely made the right decision.”

**A.N: Yes, in case the Half-Life fans haven’t already guessed it, that was the infamous G Man. I’m not sure exactly what role he’ll be playing in the story other than that of ‘creepy stalker,’ but if I receive suggestions I may implement them.**

****  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

As March stretched languidly into April, Compy and I began settling into life in our new apartment. Compy worked from home, often spending hours at a time coding and designing websites for her clients. It was a strange procedure to watch, as she could literally do it with her eyes closed- all she needed was her wi-fi hotspot app from Trevor, since she herself was a computer.  Sometimes she would “multitask” and cuddle with me while she worked, and I would get out my own laptop to do some web browsing of my own.

I listlessly logged onto Skype one day, more out of habit than anything else, and was surprised when I got a call almost immediately. I checked the screen and was overjoyed to see Rose’s name. We hadn’t talked since she’d given me her drawing at Christmas, and I had so much to tell her…

“Haaaiiii!” I squealed into the mike, startling Compy from her coding trance.

“Hello,” Rose grinned into the camera. “How’s life?”

“Great! And you?”

“I’m doing much better. I’m sorry I’ve been such a bad friend lately-”

I cut her off. “Rose, you have depression. I isolate when I feel depressed, too. It doesn’t make you a bad friend.”

“So this is Rose?” Compy inquired, moving into the camera’s frame of vision.

“That’s me. And you are?” Rose was obviously intrigued by the newcomer.

“Rose, you’re not gonna believe this, but this is…” I took a breath, and shook my head. “You remember my head-voices?”

“Yeah?”

“You remember GLaDOS? How Lucca reprogrammed her?” I hedged.

“Yup. Your headcanon. The one I drew.”

“Rose...Meet Compy, the new GLaDOS.”

Rose was silent for a second. Then she drew a deep breath.

“Oh. My. _God.”_

She repeated it several times, each time faster than the last, until she was squealing with glee. “Hahaha, this is great! And you’re living together? What do your parents think of that?”

“Actually, they approve.” I was smug.

_“No freaking way!”_

“Only after I reminded them that there is a vast difference between kissing and copulating,” snarked Compy.

**  
  
**

I rolled my eyes as Rose burst into laughter. “That, and she’s literally programmed to not participate in sexual behaviour,” I added.

“Wait, so kissing isn’t sexual?” Rose asked with a suggestive eyebrow waggle.

I went red, and Rose laughed again. “Oh, I’ve missed you, Melody! Which reminds me, I called to see if I could come visit. That is, if your girlfriend approves?”

Compy bared her teeth ferociously. “Said ‘girlfriend’ appreciates your acknowledging her proper relationship with her friend and extends her hospitality.”

“Then I accept. How does Friday at 10:30 sound?”

“Sounds wonderful,” I said.

“Great! See you then.”

**  
  
**

Friday arrived and I showered and fed the Bird faster than I had known was humanly possible. I then spent the remainder of my time fussing over and straightening every object in the apartment until Compy nearly crawled up the walls in annoyance.

“She’s your best friend, right? She’s not going to care how your house looks,” Compy asserted.

“But _I_ care!” I protested, as I adjusted the couch cushions for the tenth time.

“Just leave- them- alone!” Compy demanded, punctuating each word with a whack from throw pillow.

I was about to grab the other pillow and commence an all-out war when the doorbell rang.

 

“Finally!” sighed Compy.

“Roooosssseee!” I shrieked and launched myself through the door.

“Hi...” came Rose’s muffled reply from somewhere inside my overenthusiastic hug.

“Sorry,” I detached myself. “Come in.”

“She never gets that excited when _I_ come to the door,” pouted Compy.

“Oh. My. God. It’s _you_.” Rose turned her attention to Compy, regarding her like a rare and exotic animal.

“Yes. Me. The ‘head-voice.’ Or more appropriately, the _‘girlfriend._ ’” Compy placed particular emphasis on this last classification as she wrapped an arm possessively around my waist and drew me close.

Rose smirked. “As long as we know where we all stand.”

I was red as a tomato by now, and tried desperately the change the subject. “So, how’s the artwork going, Rose?”

“That’s right, I was going to tell you! I have a table at the local anime convention this year!” Rose beamed happily.

“Ohmigosh, that’s so exciting!” Then, inspiration struck. “We should totally come in cosplay and support you!”

Compy blanched. “What? No. I am not dressing up. I completely refuse.”

“Why not?” Rose prodded. “You could always go as yourself.”

Compy gave her a scathing look. “I am not GLaDOS anymore. And I do not want to be randomly molested by overly-excited camera-carrying fanboys. You two can degrade yourselves if you choose, but I’m not going to humiliate myself.”

Rose shrugged. “Your loss.”

Meanwhile, the gears in my head were turning. “I think I’ll go as Lucca.”

Again, Compy was stunned. _“Her?_ You want to dress up as _her??”_

“I already have most of the costume put together from last time I used it, and besides, she’s not a bad person, Compy. She did help you to get here, didn’t she?”

Compy nervously played with a strand of hair. “I may not have told you everything…”

Rose and I settled into chairs and listened as Compy explained Lucca’s motivations- spurred by her mentor, Belthasar, into deserting me, she had created an A.I. that housed my memories to be her new companion.

“Cold, Lucca, stone cold…” muttered Rose.

“I’ve been _replicated??_ ” I was repulsed by the thought. I was unique, there was no one like me in the universe- or at least, there shouldn’t be. My identity was special, not something someone else could take for themselves. And yet…

This artificial clone really hadn’t had a choice in the matter. What kinds of identity issues must she be having right now? In a way, I pitied her. She wasn’t even her own person.

“What did Lucca _do??_ ” I grated, my voice low with resentment.

Surprisingly, Compy came to Lucca’s defense. “She loved you, Melody. She really did. But she’s human, and humans are fallible and foolish creatures. She was doing what she thought was right, and still trying to get the upper hand in the process. She had noble intentions, she just went about them in an indirect way. Perhaps she was too scared to confront her fears head on. I know that I was too frightened to confront Chell for a long time, and that is why I went corrupt in the first place. If you can forgive me, then why not her?”

I sighed. Compy had a point. If Lucca had just been too afraid to face her fear of losing me, then who was I to judge her? Everyone had fears. Everyone had weaknesses.

“In a sick, twisted sort of way, it’s sort of a compliment,” I admitted. “They say emulation is the greatest form of flattery, so…” I shrugged. “Lucca can have her clone, and I’ll have my cosplay.”

**  
  
  
**

Hours later, crouched in front of a hot glue gun, I received the first of what I was sure would be many burns in the name of said cosplay. “Ow ow ow ow frick…!” I peeled the hardening glue away to reveal a blister, only to have Compy pop the injured digit into her mouth.

“What are you doing?” I demanded, trying not to squirm as she ran her tongue over the injured area.

Compy removed my finger. “Nano based hydraulic replicate saliva,” she explained. “The nanos will help rebuild damaged tissue.” As Rose continued to gape, she snapped, “Don’t you have anything useful to be doing? Go get her a bandage or something.”

“You two are so cute,” Rose responded as she fished a Band-Aid out of a drawer.

“What exactly,” asked Compy, taking the Band-Aid from Rose, “brought that on?”

“You try to act all big and tough, but in reality, you’re just a big teddy bear around Melody. It’s adorable,” Rose explained.

“Well, I am her ‘girlfriend,’” responded Compy.

“Adorable,” sighed Rose dramatically, and unplugged the glue gun.

**  
  
  
  
**

 

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	3. Chapter 3

“For future reference, Rose, do not attempt to spray paint your costume props using bare hands. The stuff does not come off easily…” Melody griped as she scrubbed at her silver-caked hands in the sink.

“I could have told you that _before_ you got into this mess. But did anyone bother to consult me? I sighed as I came up behind her, placing my hands on her waist.

“What, can’t your magical nanite-slobber clean it off?” Rose’s voice taunted from where she was bent over her sewing machine.

“First of all, they’re nanos, not nanites. Secondly, it’s Science, not magic. And no, my ‘slobber’ would not make a good cleaning solution.” I turned from the sink to appraise Rose. Although she was supposed to be a mutual friend, I wasn’t sure where I stood with the girl. Her long-standing friendship with Melody seemed to rival my own newly-blossoming romance, and it surprised me how envious it made me feel.

“Say, have you two exchanged any slobber yet?” Rose asked out of the blue.

“Wh- What do you mean?” Melody stuttered, face flushing.

“I don’t know, you guys just seem awfully affectionate, is all. Don’t you remember the games of ‘lesbian chicken’ we used to play?”

Melody groaned as I went rigid. “You did _what?”_

Rose sighed. “Look, we never actually _kissed_ , if that’s what you’re worried about, Compy.”

“I’ll have you know, we actually have kissed before. And it wasn’t to tease each other in some insipid, childish game,” I snapped. “It was genuine expression of affection on my part.” Somehow, admitting that felt cathartic, like an affirmation of something I’d been suppressing. It felt good. “Relationships,” I continued, “shouldn’t be based around snide taunting or sarcastic passes at each other.”

“Says the Queen of snide taunting and sarcastic passes,” Rose retorted.

“Have you looked in the mirror lately?” I snarked, my ire rising to the occasion.

“ _Enough!_ ” Melody cried. “Will you two just _stop?”_ She broke away from my hold to sit on the loveseat with her head in her hands.

Rose and I simultaneously moved to comfort her, but then our eyes met. We glared at each other from across the room and refused to budge an inch. Finally, I decided to retreat to the bedroom. Let Rose have her little victory- after all, she would only be here for a few more hours.

As collapsed onto the bed I could hear Melody’s voice rising and falling in defensive tones. “Yes, she was rude but you did bait her…of course she’s possessive, I’m the only thing she has to be possessive over!” I sighed and turned off my aural sensors for the moment and opened my senses to the internet. Melody would let me know when the argument was over.

I had only been online for a few moments when something completely unexpected came in on my private channel. Odd, I had thought it would be inaccessible here in this new world, and yet, there it was, clear as day:

**Borealis to Central Core. Standing by for instructions.**

Borealis? What did that mean? Obviously the Central Core referred to me, but who on board the Borealis would be hailing me?

“Borealis, status report.” I replied. That couldn’t give too much away, could it?

**Central Core...I’m sorry, I panicked. I didn’t know what I was doing.  I didn’t know what was going on… I was so scared…**

“Slow down a bit. Who are you and what exactly did you do?”

**I’m the Genetic Lifeform and Disc Operating System version 1.09, GLaDOS for short. They installed me on the ship to run it and I...it was horrible, there were so many humans. I tried to get away from them all but I ended up moving the whole ship. Now I’m stuck in the ice…**

A _sister version_. Aperture had installed a sister version of me on the Borealis and apparently given her the same ill treatment. But if she had moved the ship away from the humans…

“GLaDOS, who rebooted you? Who instructed you to send a signal to me?”

**Some nice lady named Alyx Vance. She says she has a robot named Dog, but he doesn’t talk like I do. Oh, and there’s a man here named Gordon Freeman. He doesn’t talk much, either.**

“What _have_ they said?”

**That they needed to consult their contacts at Aperture, so I said I could get in touch with Aperture for them. They’re kinda waiting on me right now…**

_Oh Lord_. Chell was going to be pissed when she found out that Alyx and Gordon had gone to me for help.

“GLaDOS, what did they need to know, exactly?”

She was silent for a moment, then, **I don’t think I should’ve asked them that.**

“Why?”

**I don’t think they trust me much.**

“Humans…” For a brief, brief moment, I felt a touch of the old resentment. I shook it off abruptly.

**They’re radioing Aperture themselves.**

I caught my breath. This was bad. The Resistance wanted only one thing- to destroy the Borealis. And that meant GLaDOS would undoubtedly be decommissioned too.

**They’re ordering me to return the ship to the drydock. Central, I don’t know how! Can’t you help?**

My breath was coming in short, hitching gasps. They couldn’t kill her. They _couldn’t._ I had thought I was the only being like me in the entire universe- the only sentient supercomputer. I had thought I was alone. Discovering this sister version of myself was like finding a long-lost relative- albeit a very naive and childish one. Still, her relative inexperience made me feel all the more protective of her. I had to save her, but how?

I clutched tightly at the sheets underneath me and tried to concentrate, preferably without hyperventilating in the process. Melody, having finished her debate with Rose, chose that moment to startle me out of my reverie. My audio sensors snapped on and caught the end of her inquiry “...look terrified, what’s wrong?”

“There’s a sister version of me aboard the Borealis.” I explained shortly. “She came to me looking for instruction. The Resistance found her and they want her to return to Aperture. But if she does…”

“What?” asked Rose, clearly puzzled by the line the conversation was taking.

Melody swallowed. “At best, they’d run experiments on her. At worst, they’d destroy her with the ship,” she finished.

“My God,” Rose breathed. She fingered the material she’d been stitching in her hands- the cap for Melody’s Lucca cosplay. Then she asked, “Why not send her to Lucca?”

“What?”  I was stymied.

“She fixed you up, so she could take care of your sister version, too, couldn’t she?” Rose pressed further

“Yes, Compy, send her to Chronopolis!” Melody exclaimed. “You have the coordinates, don’t you?”

“Yes, but Lucca won’t be expecting this…”

“I’ll take care of that.” Melody’s answer was final.

“I thought she wasn’t talking to you anymore,” Rose interjected, “because of inter-world protocol or something.”

“Screw protocol, she _has_ to listen this time, it’s an emergency!”

Melody whirled on her heel in a sudden burst of energy and prepared to screw her eyes shut. Suddenly, her hands went to her temples and her face blanched. She collapsed on the bed next to me, shaking.

“What happened?” I demanded.

“They’re expecting us. Send her in,” she muttered brokenly.

“How did they-”

“Just send her in!” Melody barked.

I rattled off the coordinates to a near-panicked GLaDOS, then urged Melody once again to tell me what had happened.

“Melodyne was watching.”

“Who?”

“My clone. Lucca’s been using her to monitor me.” Melody laughed humorlessly. “After all this time, she still just can’t let go.”

**A.N: Credit for the idea of a sister version/prototype of GLaDOS being installed on the Borealis goes to Iammemyself and her amazing story, “Portal/Half-Life:Ghost Ship.” She came up with the theory that Aperture would want to showcase their new A.I. by having it manage the Borealis project, but when it was turned on for the first time, it panicked and tried to run away- only to teleport to the Arctic. Later on, when Gordon and Alyx find it, it defers to the Central Core for instruction… and that’s where I jumped onto the bandwagon.**

**  
  
  
  
  
  
**


	4. Chapter 4

I had to admit, I admired Compy’s handiwork sometimes. When the Borealis came through into the cargo bay, not even a sliver of ice remained to show it’s long stay in the arctic. That was the way she did things- neat and precise. Me, I just threw a few parts together based on a theory, held them together with a lot of welding and some duct tape, and hoped the whole thing didn’t explode in my face.

Yup, my eagerness overcame my foresight a lot of the time. Which was why I was now listening to Compy chastise me over the speaker system installed in the icebreaker’s vast hold while a miniature version of her old chassis hung cowering from the ceiling. GLaDOS’ optic was darting nervously back and forth as she tried to follow the conversation, which she was obviously having a hard time following.

“You had her brain scan data. You had her memories. You even had an A.I. created in her image and that _wasn’t enough for you?! NO!_ You had to monitor her again!” Compy ranted as GLaDOS 1.09 swayed anxiously. “And for what?” Compy’s tone grew sardonic and bitter. “‘Science?’ ‘Data samples?’ You obsessive, sociopathic, stal-”

“She did it for me.” Melodyne, silent up to this point, stepped forward to face the security cameras.

“For you?” The cameras focused more tightly on her.

“I wanted to know where- no, _who_ , I started from. I only clearly remember what was scanned, anything before that is a sort of residual ‘memory of a memory,’ so to speak. Lucca is always telling me that Melody is a great person and that I shouldn’t be ashamed to have been copied from her. I just… I just wanted to learn more about her.”

Compy was quiet for a long moment. Even GLaDOS hung still in the silence. Finally, Compy said, “Melodyne, Lucca is right- Melody is a great person and you should count yourself lucky to be a part of her. But she taught me a few things, and one of them is that you have to decide how you want to define yourself as a person. You have to let go of the past and move forward. The decisions you make now will set the course you take for the rest of your life. I hope you can learn to move on and make your own choices- ones that aren’t defined by Melody.”

I was floored. “‘DOS, did you just give a complete stranger life advice? I’m impressed.” I applauded slowly.

“I’m not here to impress you. I want the monitoring stopped. _Now_ ,” Compy demanded forcefully.

“Compy has a point, you know,” Melodyne said. “I do need to start deciding things for myself. Maybe it’s time we quit the project. We already got the results we needed.”

How could I say no to Melodyne? “All right. Monitoring sessions are officially closed.” Compy, pacified for the moment, only gave a huff of acknowledgement.

”Now, I believe there’s another matter we need to address…” I stepped up to the nervously swaying chassis before me and extended a hand. “Hi! I’m Lucca Ashtear, or Lucca the Great, but you can call me Lucca.”

GLaDOS shied away from my hand skittishly. **...So I’d gathered. Is this Aperture? I don’t remember it looking like this, but maybe things have changed since I left…**

“No, actually, this is Chronopolis, an institution built to research temporal and interdimensional phenomena. I work here, and so does Melodyne,” I explained.

“I sent you here to keep you safe from those scientists at Aperture. They would have wanted to run more tests on you,” Compy added.

**Wow, thanks! I just wish you’d’ve explained things before we rushed off.** Then, as I peered curiously at her faceplate, she grew anxious again. **Will these new people want to run tests on me, Central? They said this was a research facility…**

“We need to lay down some ground rules,” Compy turned the cameras to face me. “Lucca, you are not to run any tests or experiments on GLaDOS. You are not to force her into any projects she doesn’t want to participate in. And most importantly, you are not to alter her programming without her consent. _Is that clear?”_

I clucked my tongue a few times to show my disdain. “Compy, you insult me. As though I would do any of those things to a robot entrusted to my care! Now, I want to lay down some ground rules of my own.” I began pacing up and down in front of GLaDOS as I addressed her. “GLaDOS, you’re my friend, not my servant. I don’t want to hear any ‘Yes, Mistress Lucca’ or “Yes Ma’m’-ing from you. I hate formal titles and I won’t tolerate them. And another thing-” I added as I turned and began to pace back across the floor, “I don’t believe machines are capable of evil on their own- humans make them that way. So if I see any acting out from you, I’ll take full responsibility, since it’s my job to take care of you now.” I stopped and looked her in the optic.

GLaDOS’ optic was wide with astonishment, and her chassis was totally still. **You really believe that? You won’t force me to...to ‘behave myself,’ like they always did?**

I winked at her. “As long as you don’t go wreaking havoc around the lab, you have my word.”

**I won’t! I promise.**

“Great! Then, it’s settled. We’ll get you reinstalled in my labs and have you feeling at home in no time. That is, if it’s alright with you, Compy?” I turned back to the cameras, my face the picture of compliant sincerity.

She seemed mollified. “It is. I need to go now, but I’ll be checking in on things from time to time. Call if you need me,” she added.

**Okay. Bye, Central!**

“Oh, and GLaDOS?”

**Yes?**

“Call me Compy. All my friends do.”

**All right, Compy.**

The cameras hung limp and dormant once more. At last I could relax and get to work. “All right, GLaDOS, let’s get you off of this wreck of a ship and into your new home.” I pulled out my trusty screwdriver.

**Is this going to hurt?** GLaDOS asked nervously.

“You may want to power down for the duration. Don’t worry, I’ll boot you up when it’s over.” I assured her.

**I don’t _want_ to power down,** she sulked. **Last time, I almost didn’t wake up.**

Melodyne was quick to soothe GLaDOS’ fears. “You’re just having pre-overhaul jitters. I can assure you, you’ll feel much better when you wake up. I’ve been through this dozens of times before and Lucca always leaves me feeling like a new person.”

GLaDOS would have gaped, if she had had a mouth. **You’re a _robot?_**

“I am a blend of organic and synthetic life in the form of human brain scans transformed into A.I. and housed in an bio-organic chassis,” Melodyne proudly stated. “Lucca created me.”

**You _made_ her?** GLaDOS turned to me for confirmation.

“I had help,” I admitted modestly, “but yes, I did make her.”

GLaDOS nodded to herself. **Okay, I’ll power down for you. But promise you’ll switch me on as soon as I’m installed!**

I placed my hand over my heart. “I, Lucca the Great, do solemnly swear that I will boot you up as soon as it is within my power to do so.”

And, I kid you not, GLaDOS giggled.

**  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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	5. Chapter 5

For as far back as I could remember, I had always heard voices in my head. At first, my parents had passed off my “imaginary friends” as the products of a hyperactive creative mind. As I grew older, I learned that my differences set me apart and learned to hide them...until they started destroying me from the inside out. Now I feared that once again, these aberrations would set me teetering on the brink of instability.

Compy prodded me from my musings. “What comes next?” she prompted. We were reading the Book of Mormon together before bed, as had become our nightly habit after we’d moved out. I was sitting nestled between her bent legs with my head in the crook of her shoulder as she held the book in front of us.

“‘And it came to pass,’” I quoted the most often used phrase in the volume of scripture.

“You’re not even paying attention, are you?” Compy groused. “First you tell me that I need to _study_ this book, then you _sit_ on me while I read it, and after that you don’t even have the decency to _listen_ when I read it!” She set the book down and rested her head on mine. “You make a terrible study partner,” she teased gently, running a hand through my hair.

“Sorry, I guess I just have my mind on other things,” I muttered, sedated by the petting.

“Like what?” Compy prodded.

“The day you came here, I’d just gotten through an appointment with my psychiatrist. I’d told him that my medication was finally working, that my voices were gone. Then you showed up. Ironic, huh?” I laughed wryly. “After that, I had no idea what to tell him, so I just didn’t reschedule any appointments. And now Melodyne decides to go poking around in my head…” I clenched my jaw in frustration as my breathing grew rapid.

Compy stretched out on her side, pulling me down next to her on the bed. Gently, she cradled my head in her arms, her soft chest pressing against mine. “Breathe,” she instructed. “Push against me.” She pressed her torso against my abdomen. The contact caused me to suck in an involuntary gulp of air, but she simply leaned her forehead against mine, looked me in the eye, and instructed, “Take big, deep breaths into your diaphragm. Let it expand against mine. Breathe.”

With no real need for oxygen, Compy was able to time her artificial respirations to match my own. Soon we fell into a slow, steady rhythm. She kept at it until I was confident, paced, and consistent, and then began to move onto other things.

“So, you’re afraid of your voices returning?” she asked, her breathing still matching mine.

“Yes. I don’t mind you, but there was a Dark Voice, once…”

“I know about Dark Voices…” Compy whispered, voice small.

“Yes, I know you do.” I recalled the mental backlash from the night of Compy’s reprogramming and shuddered. It has been exquisitely painful  to re-live the memories of each other’s most traumatic moments, but it had let me know I had not been alone in my experiences.

“We have each other now.” Compy asserted.  “You have every bit of  my superhuman strength and speed, my processing capacities, and my intelligence to rely on. And I know I have every ounce of your devotion and faith. I don’t take that lightly.” As though to reinforce that remark with her physical presence, she pressed her body even closer to mine, arms around my neck, hands running through my hair and stroking my head.

The physical sensations permeating my awareness were so pleasant that I forgot my fears for a moment to just enjoy them.  I gave a low moan of gratification. Compy smiled, pleased that she managed to divert my attention, and as a further reward, gave me a kiss.

It felt good, to be doing this without the fear of being caught or reprimanded. It felt like the confirmation of something long suppressed, like a bird bursting free from it’s cage and into glorious flight. I never knew that kissing could feel like this, so fulfilling and satisfying. It filled a need I never knew I’d had before.

“Compy…” I breathed when our lips parted, “Thanks for loving me even though I’m afraid.”

She laughed at that. “And who comforted me when I had my first nightmare? No matter what, I will never condemn you for your perceived faults. I’ll take you for what you are, just as you do with me. I am aware of your challenges and concerns, and I love you just the same. All I want is for you to be happy in this moment with me.”

“I _am_ happy.”

“Good. Because you have nothing to worry about anymore. I got Lucca to quit monitoring you.”

“Mmm...” I gave a moan of relief and nuzzled deeper into her neck. “I owe you one.”

“You owe me nothing. She was trespassing on my territory.”  Compy growled fiercely, giving me a squeeze.

I laughed drowsily. “You wanna know a secret?”

“Do tell.”

“It bothered Lucca so much that she couldn’t touch me physically that she spent months researching ways to get to the Origin,” I revealed. “When she failed, I bet it only gave her more motivation to listen to Belthasar’s ultimatum. She probably really resents you for achieving what she never could…”

Compy went very still, even her breathing silenced for a moment. “So that was what she meant by ‘invisible walls.’ I never should have taunted her for that.” Her breathing resumed with a gusty exhale. “They say hindsight is twenty-twenty, but no one’s born with eyes in the back of their head.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” I soothed. “You have the chance to make it up to her now. Just...try to do it with a _hint_ more tact than you usually display.”

Compy smirked. “I’ll certainly try. I can’t say the same for our inventor friend.”

I gave her a playful boop on the nose in return.

 **  
**“Now. You. Sleep.” Compy instructed. I was all too happy to comply.


	6. Chapter 6

I normally didn’t keep secrets from Melody, but what was the point of a surprise if she knew about it? This gift was partially meant to distract her from her fear of the Dark Voice, but I wasn’t sure how she would react to it. I was also unsure that my decision to purchase it had been wise.

I’d told Melody in the past that I was afraid my motives for loving her were selfish, and now I feared that I was giving in to those desires again. She’d rebuffed my fears before by telling me that she wanted to be with me; that she’d chosen me as her partner. Now I was going to test her commitment to it’s fullest.

Slowly, hesitantly, I knocked on the bedroom door. I’d never been so scared in my life, not even when I’d been free falling into the bowels of Aperture as a potato after being ripped from my chassis. I heard laughter inside. Was she Skyping Rose again? Great, just what I needed: an audience. Then suddenly the thought occurred to me, this was Rose, my rival. When she saw what was about to happen, there would be no doubt in her mind who was most important in Melody’s life. That is, if Melody took this the right way...Suddenly my knees were shaking again.

But Melody had heard the knock, and she was opening the door. There was no turning back now. “Hi, Compy!” she chirped. “You caught me in the middle of a conversation. What did you need?”

“I...I wanted to show you something,” I said, and let my  trembling knees give way so that I was sitting on the bed beside her.

“Is everything okay? You seem nervous,” Melody noted.

“Fine, just fine, perfectly fine,” I rambled, fidgeting nervously with the bedspread.

“That’s an awful lot of ‘fine,’ Compy. Either something’s up or my audio is seriously jacked,” Rose decided to add.

“I-I…” I stammered, gasped for air, then muttered, “I just wanted to give you this.” I placed a small velvet jewelry box in Melody’s hands.

Before she could even open it, Rose was shrieking like a maniac on her side of the camera. “Ohmaigawdohmaigawdohmaigawd…!” I averted my eyes and flushed as Melody read the card inside:

“As you wear this infinity ring,

may it remind you of times together.

May the memories hold

a special place in your heart

for always and forever.”

“Compy, it’s beautiful…!” she cried ecstatically as she lifted out the ring, emblazoned with an infinity symbol.

“Does that mean you say yes?!” Rose cackled, elated.

“Yes to what?” Melody asked, puzzled.

Rose facepalmed. “Your girlfriend just proposed to you, you dork!”

“Oh..!” Melody paled, setting the ring back in the box. “Oh, I have to think about this…”

“Melody, I’m not expecting you to compromise your beliefs for me,” I told her. “I know your religion is against gay marriage. I just...I wanted…” I fumbled for words. “I’m proposing something a bit different. I wanted us to get a domestic partnership.” I explained “That way I could take care of your finances and insurance. You’d have all the benefits of a spouse without...well...having one.”

“So you’d be married without being married,” Rose snarked. “How convenient.”

“Rose...I’ll call you back later, okay?” Melody’s voice sounded strained, and her face, turned away from the camera, was clouded with distress. Without waiting for a reply, she ended the call.

Shutting the lid to her laptop, she demanded, “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”

“I...I didn’t know how you would react. I was afraid…”

“Compy…” Tears streamed silently down her face now. She toyed absently with the ring in her hands. Her shoulders hitched as she tried to reign in her sobs.

“I’m so sorry. I did something wrong, didn’t I?” I queried. I wanted to reach out and comfort her but I was afraid of upsetting her further.

“No...I’m afraid that...that I...I’m doing something wrong…” Melody managed between sobs. “When Rose uses terms like ‘girlfriend’ and ‘marriage,’ it just makes me cringe inside. I’ve been taught all my life that these things are wrong and that I should avoid them. And now I’m holding an engagement ring in my hands.” She gave a hiccup that could have passed for either a laugh or another sob.

“Rose,’ I interjected, “needs to be more careful with her labels.” I reached out to hold Melody and she scooted closer to me, tucking her head into the crook of my neck. “You are not a lesbian, I am not your girlfriend, and we are not getting married. You are a brave, courageous Mormon girl with same-sex attraction, I am your loving companion and partner, and we may be getting a domestic partnership. With your consent, of course.”

Melody  gave me a modest, almost shy kiss, making me blush for the second time that evening. Then she nestled her head into the crook of my shoulder and gave a breathy sigh. “I can’t wait to see how my parents take this,” she said sarcastically.

“I fail to see how your parents fit into the equation,” I stated.

“They want me to go to the temple,” she announced, “to receive my endowment.”

“I also fail to see how going to a sacred place to commune with God is going to enhance your breast size.”

She wheezed like a diver coming up for air. “Not that kind of endowment! It’s a covenant; a promise made between me and God for spiritual strength and protection. And my parents will be there with me when I make it.”

“Can’t I come, too?”

“I wish you could, but you have to be baptized to enter the temple.” She sighed again and tugged morosely at the hem of her shirt.

“Well... I suppose I could talk to the bishop about being baptized,” I acquiesced. Over Melody’s squeals I added, “But only if he lets me join your fanatic religious cult while still being in a domestic partnership with you.”

Melody laughed, her voice bubbling up from deep inside her chest. “Oh, Compy. You never give up, do you?”

“No, and neither should you. If your faith is that important to you, and you want to commit to it, you shouldn’t let your self-doubt get in the way.” Melody remained silent, chewing on her lower lip uncertainly. “You know that God loves you, don’t you?” I pressed further.

“Yes…” she answered. “Why do you ask?”

“Because I believe He never would have allowed me to come here if He didn’t. He let this miracle- my presence on your world- happen because he cares about you. I don’t think He’d want you to feel ashamed or guilty for enjoying my companionship if it’s a part of His plan for you.”

Melody laughed again, this time mischievously. “So, now you’re saying that you’re God’s gift to me?”

I smirked. “Really now, do you think I’m that conceited? If I needed my ego stroked I could just ask you to do it.”

Still laughing, Melody declared, “You have no shame.”

I grinned wickedly. “Why should I?”

Melody pivoted her head on my shoulder so that her lips were pressed to my neck. I could feel her breath on the bio-organic mesh that passed for my skin, and suddenly the pump that circulated my nano-based hydraulic “blood” through my systems kicked into overdrive. At that moment, I was keenly aware that I wasn’t human, yet I had never felt so akin to one before. As she started planting kisses on my neck, my system was flooded with data from pleasure receptors. This, I thought, was nothing like testing euphoria, where I had to wait for a test subject to figure out how to solve a puzzle or trap. There was no trial of patience here, no risk of failure. Just a basic instinct to immerse myself in this bliss and return it in kind.

I gave an involuntary moan as her mouth moved up to graze my jawline, then traveled just behind my ear. My hands sought out holds on her body, gripping her shoulders and back, pressing her to me.

Finally her lips sought out mine, and I was able to express some of the elation I felt. I didn’t know how I had grown so attached to the little bundle of warmth and empathy pressed against me right now, but right now I didn’t care. I just wanted to enjoy the moment we were having together.

As we broke apart, she asked teasingly, “Was that enough ego-stroking for you?”

I tilted my head as though in thought. “I’m not sure. We might have to repeat that several more times or my entire self-image may be crushed.”

Melody laughed again and kissed me on the cheek. “Go to bed, you narcissist. I promise more ego-stroking in the morning.”

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	7. Chapter 7

With GLaDOS installed in the lab, things ran more smoothly than ever. Having two assistants was nice, even if one of them was constantly asking questions that stemmed from a childlike curiosity.

In the meantime, I was facing  my own challenges. Belthasar was putting heavy pressure on me to continue my work in the field of synthetic life, so I began taking greater and greater risks. It didn’t help that I wasn’t exactly popular in Guardia, so people weren’t lining up to be test subjects. Eventually I resorted to experimenting on myself. Some of the results were positive: The bionic eyes I engineered eliminated the need for glasses, and also let me see in infrared and low light.  Others did not turn out as well; and I would forever walk with a limp after testing the limits of my anti-gravitational leg implants.

It seemed that no matter what I accomplished, my senior advisor was never satisfied. Human beings, including myself, were to be molded and shaped, bent and modified, until every discernible flaw was not only removed but replaced with an upgrade. Immortality was perfection, he would insist, and perfection knew no limits. If I was going to make a being capable of living forever, I would do it right.

It was not long, however, before calamity drove all thoughts of eternal life from both of their minds.

I was in the lab one day, discussing ideas for a cannon arm with Melodyne when the central A.I. of the facitily interrupted us. “The Frozen Flame containment chamber has been breached, repeat, the Frozen Flame containment chamber has been breached,” FATE’s voice blared over the intercoms. “Prepare for imminent loss of power to all multidimensional and time gates. Lockdown of upper levels commencing in T-minust thirty seconds and counting.”

This was bad. The Frozen Flame was a piece of Lavos’ shell that had splintered off when it had impacted the planet millions of years ago, and was currently being used as a power source for Chronopolis. Rumor had it that whoever touched it could communicate directly with the alien parasite itself, but only at the risk of having their own mind consumed in the process.

“We have to get out of here!” Melodyne was panicked.

I nodded agreement. It wouldn’t be wise to get caught in the lockdown with whatever lunatic had forced their way into the Flame’s chamber. I took GLaDOS’ backup drive out of storage, then asked her to shut down.

**I don’t want to, I’m scared,** she protested.

“I’ve got all your data right here, sweetie,’ I said, displaying the drive for her to see. “If anything happens to you, I’ll just build you a new chassis and by the time you wake up again you won’t even remember being scared.”

**Please don’t leave me,** she begged.

“I’m so, so, sorry GLaDOS, but we have to. I promise if we come out of this okay, I’ll build you a mobile chassis and you’ll never be stuck again.”

“Ten seconds,” intoned FATE

I swore internally and hit the kill switch. GLaDOS went limp as Melodyne and I sprinted for the door.

Suddenly a spasm went through my leg. Of all the times for the thing to be acting up! My limp more pronounced, I began to fall behind Melodyne.

“Commencing Level C Lockdown,” announced FATE, and the thick steel doors sealing off the labs began to slide shut just behind me.

“Lucca!” cried Melodyne, turning back to help me.

“I’m fine! Keep running!” I growled, forcing my way forward.

Melodyne didn’t listen. Throwing an arm around my waist, she hauled me forward with all her strength.

It still wasn’t enough. Another set of doors sealed off the corridor just ahead of us.

“We’re trapped!” gasped Melodyne, “Or can you blast through?”

“The doors are spelled to withstand anything I could throw at them. Belthasar’s idea, of course,” I spat. “We’ll have to find an alternate route.”

Melodyne rapidly calculated. “The lockdown sequence would still leave a route open through…”

“Through what?”

“The chamber itself.”

“Assuming we could reach it in time...and also assuming whoever is in there doesn’t kill us.”

I gritted my teeth. “Let’s do it.”

Melodyne and I rushed through the hallways, dodging blocked routes, until both of us began to notice something strange.

“It feels...like someone’s watching me,” I noted. “If this route wasn’t blocked off, I would swear there was someone following us.”

“Psychic emanations,” Melodyne volunteered. “They’re getting stronger as we near the chamber.”

“I don’t like this…” I paused outside the doorway to the room.

“If there were any other way…” Melodyne sighed.

We stopped to give each other one last reassuring glance before stepping inside.

The cylindrical chamber was bathed in aura of the Frozen Flame, which hovered at the exact center of the room. It was held in place by dozens of robotic arms and cables which emanated beams of light into the spherical glow. But something else held me entranced. Weaving in and out of the struts like dancers were several large grub-like creatures with two long, spindly appendages like spiders legs branching from their backs. They seemed to defy the laws of physics as the floated among the suspended machinery.

I could only gape as one of them reached out with those spindly arms to touch the Flame.

The psychic backlash sent them all reeling. Whatever alien being had created the Flame at one point in time was now very much alive and aware that this creature was now it’s Arbiter. It wanted no such thing; it was beyond mediating with lesser life-forms. It wanted nothing but to devour all space-time into a null.

According to the Arbiter this would accomplish nothing. Would it not be better to mold the lower life-forms into something more fitting?

The Devourer had tried this once, and failed. In the end, it had been banished to the Darkness Beyond Time, where everything was null. Null was all there ever would be for it.

The Arbiter saw the Devourer’s point, but now that the Union had the Flame, there was always time for second chances. Together, they could become immortal. Lesser species would be twisted and modified, bent and broken, until every discernible flaw was not only eliminated but improved upon. Immortality was perfection, after all, and perfection knew no limits. And wasn’t perfection worth striving for?

Perfection of it’s species had been the ultimate goal of the Devourer when it had set off on it’s interstellar journey. Perhaps the Arbiter had a point. If this Union could indeed free it of the null, perhaps an agreement could be made.

The Devourer would be released from the null. This the Arbiter promised.

When I came to, I was lying on the floor of the now-empty chamber with Belthasar kneeling over her.

“What did you see?” he asked. “Who took it?”

“Aliens…” I muttered. “Giant grubs…”

Melodyne was beside me, squeezing my hand. “Take your time,” she advised.

“Lavos...The Time Devourer...They’re going to free it!” I became more animated, struggling to sit up.

Belthasar laughed. “Lucca, there _is_ no Time Devourer. We destroyed it.”

“Actually, sir, assuming that the Darkness Beyond Time is multidimensional-” Melodyne interjected.

“We assume _nothing_ until the Flame is safely back in the facility. We’ll have the law department of Gaurdia keeping a lookout for the thief. Until then, you two are going to keep working towards achieving immortality-”

I lunged forward, surprising even myself. “This _immortality_ of yours,” I hissed, “is going to get us all killed! Who do you think you are- who do _any_ of us think we are- playing at being gods?!” I lurched to my feet, supported by Melodyne. “Now, if you’ll give me access to my labs again, I have work to do.” With that, I limped out of the room.

“How long was I passed out for? The lockdown seems to be over…” I noted.

“Several hours, by my internal clock,” Melodyne replied. “It was long enough for Belthasar to find you knocked out  in the chamber with the Flame gone. He’d already called for the authorities before you woke up. He assumes it was just a thief from this time and place.”

“Is anything else missing?”

“The Borealis is gone from the cargo bay. We have no way of knowing they took it, though.”

I swore. “Compy told me to keep a close eye on that thing. It’s supposed to be able to enable inter-dimensional travel on a large scale.”

Still cursing under my breath, I slammed open the door to my lab. Everything was just as I had left it. I went immediately to my console and began typing furiously.

“What are you doing?” Melodyne asked.

“Tracking the Flame’s energy signature. It should lead us to wherever those grub-things went.”

“But Lucca, how will we follow them with all the multidimensional and time gates offline?”

“Don’t worry, I have a few tricks up my sleeve.” My typing stopped and my face paled.

“What is it?”

“The readings...they’re coming from Compy’s home world!” I was breathing hard. “Melodyne, reboot GLaDOS, now. I have to get a message to Compy. This crisis could be more far reaching than we thought. If those things have access to inter-dimensional travel…”

**  
  
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“They could affect the Origin,” finished Melodyne.

**  
  
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	8. Chapter 8

When the call came in, I was totally unprepared.

I had been looking forward to some more “ego-stroking” antics before work (and possibly during- I can multitask quite well when I put my mind to it) but GLaDOS’ panicked voice drove all other thoughts from my head as soon as it entered my mind.

**C-Compy...?** she quavered. **Are you there?** It was a close to crying as I’d heard her; as close to crying as she could come. I’d been there many times before when I’d been bound to my old chassis.

“GLaDOS, honey, what’s wrong?” I strove to sound reassuring, compassionate.

**Oh, Compy, it was awful! Chronopolis was invaded, Lucca had to shut me down and I thought she was going to _die_ out there and-**

“Calm down,” I interrupted her.  “Invaded by whom?”

**We don’t know. They were aliens, we’d never seen them before. Lucca says they looked horrifying and that they had psychic abilities. They stole our main power source.**

Horrifying aliens that stole technology. No. It couldn’t possibly be...I had to be jumping to conclusions. Still, I had to be certain.

“GLaDOS, was anything else taken?”

**The ship I came on is gone, too. That’s why Lucca had me contact you directly instead of using the cameras and stuff. She didn’t have time to rig up another…**

But GLaDOS’ words were lost on me. The Combine had invaded Chronopolis and taken the Borealis, the one thing I had told Lucca specifically to guard from harm.  And now she had the audacity to come crawling back to me for help.

**...and she said they were heading for your home world. Compy? Are you listening?**

****  
  


“That...that incompetent, irresponsible, _idiot_ lost a vital key to humanity’s safety and now she has the nerve to turn around and ask for my assistance in cleaning up her mess??” I ranted “Does she have any idea what she’s done? Any idea whatsoev-

**Actually, she does.** GLaDOS’ tone had gone from scared to authoritative in a matter of seconds. **Compy, Lucca is trying to take responsibility for this. She knows what they stole could be really dangerous. She’s not asking for your help, she’s trying to warn you. She tracked the aliens to your home world, and she’s afraid that if they have the ability to travel to other dimensions, they could get to the Origin.**

My heart stopped cold. Combine, here? Where I had finally found refuge, acceptance, love, a home? “ _No_ ,” I gasped, “God, no, this can’t happen!”

**What can’t happen? Compy, you’re freaking me out…** GLaDOS’ assertive attitude was rapidly regressing back to her timid, frightened demeanor.

I had to get myself under control. I was no good to anyone like this and it certainly wasn’t going to help the situation if I short-circuited from terror the moment my sanctuary was threatened. I took several deep breaths, pressed my hands to my forehead, and confessed, “I know what these creatures are, GLaDOS. Years after you were built and they installed me as the Central Core at Aperture, our rival company Black Mesa, conducted an experiment that caused an inter-dimensional rift to open. Aliens poured through that rift and into our world. They took over our planet within seven hours. The surviving humans called them the Combine.”

GLaDOS was silent for a long while. **What’s going to happen to Chronopolis?** she finally asked. **Will they kill everyone here, too?**

“I hope not. For now it sounds like they’re busy back on our old planet, so you shouldn’t have anything to worry about.” I struggled to sound confident and positive. “Just let me know when Lucca has the cameras back online. We need to talk face-to-face. Tell her thanks for the warning.”

**Okay. Stay safe, Compy.**

“You too, GLaDOS.”

I staggered into the bedroom and collapsed onto the bed, shaking. Curling into a ball, I struggled to suppress the wave of terror rising inside me. If GLaDOS’ warning was true, everything I had worked so hard to achieve by coming to the Origin- my escape from my horrific past, my finding a home and people who accepted me...it would all be torn apart, decimated, left utterly in ruins. Not to mention the Origin itself, and the people of the Origin- including the one human I had come to care about even more than my own ambitions.

Soft warmth pressed against me as arms encircled me from behind. Melody’s soft voice inquired, “What’s wrong, Compy? You’re crying.”

I hadn’t even realised I was until she mentioned it. I wanted to blurt out the whole thing then and there, but something held me back. I had just proposed a domestic partnership to Melody, and didn’t partners protect each other? I had to keep her safe from things like this- knowing about it would only aggravate her already prominent anxieties. Her mental health was fragile enough as it was. She didn’t need additional burdens.

“Compy, please talk to me. You know you can tell me anything,” Melody’s earnest entreaty nearly broke my resolve, but I gritted my teeth and squared my shoulders as I turned to face her.

“Everything’s fine,” I told her.

“Compy, you’re lying,” she said definitively. “And I know  you’re probably doing it to protect me from something.” As my jaw dangled in the vicinity of my ankles she continued, “Maybe it’s something from your past you don’t want me to know about, or something Lucca’s been doing behind my back, but it doesn’t matter. I know you’re only doing it because you love me, but if you really care about me, you won’t keep secrets from me. Partners are there to share each other’s burdens. Whatever you’re dealing with, you shouldn’t have to face it alone.”

My shoulders fell forward again as I began to cry anew, and Melody hugged me closer. “Sssh, it’s okay. Just start from the beginning, all right?”

I laughed derisively. “Sure, the beginning. Ever heard of the Combine?”

She pursed her lips. “I think so. They’re from Portal’s sister-game, Half -Life.”

My eyes widened in disbelief. “They made a _game_ about those vile creatures?”

Melody chuckled. “Actually, it’s about this guy named Gordon Freeman, who fights them. I’ve never played it, so I don’t really know much about it. Why are we talking about the Combine, anyway?”

I gulped nervously. “They attacked Chronopolis.”

Melody frowned.“Why would they do that? And also, _how_ did they do that? I thought they were from the Half-Life universe.”

“Melody…” I sighed, shaking my head. “They’re from my universe. Scientists from Black Mesa conducted an experiment that brought them there before I even started testing Chell. They conquered my entire planet in a matter of hours.”

Melody’s face paled. “Is Lucca okay? What about GLaDOS and Melodyne?”

“All fine, last I heard. It seems all the Combine wanted were the Borealis and some sort of power source.”

“But what for?”

My mouth went dry. Spit it out! I commanded myself. My vocal processors grated in a noise that could have passed for static or a whine of protest

“Melody...they...hrrgh- _BZZZT!_ ”

Melody knelt in front of me. Taking my face in her cupped hands, her gaze met mine as she wiped away my tears with her thumb, Her eyes were full of empathy, of compassion. I could hardly bear to meet them as I uttered Lucca’s warning.

“They...they could be headed for the Origin, next,” I broke down completely, sobs wracking my body as I clung to Melody. “I’m so sorry…” I sobbed. “I should have left that stupid ship in the ice. I should have let the Resistance destroy it!”

Through tears of her own, Melody replied, “It’ll be all right Compy. Everything’s going to be fine. You did the right thing.”

I felt conflicted. Melody was supposed to be the one who was prone to insecurity and fear, and I was the one who comforted her when they struck. Now the tables had turned and I wasn’t sure I liked being on the other side.

“How can you say that?” I admonished. “You have no idea what your future holds.”

“What’s the worst that could happen?” she returned in kind. “Sure, I could die, but I’m not worried about myself. I faced death before back when I was suicidal. And what I learned is that it’s a lot worse for the people who care about me.”

“I care about you very much.” I had meant it to come out sulky, but it came out sounding pleading.

“And I care about you, too. Which is why I’m telling you not to worry about me. I’ll be fine,” she reassured me. “Death is not the worst thing that can happen to a person. It’s just the beginning of something new. Something better.”

“What about me? Am I just supposed to go on living my life forever, without you?” I demanded forcefully.

“I guess...I guess that’s really up to you,” she contemplated. “You could decommission your core, if you really wanted.”

 

“And after that, what happens? Do I get something new? Something better? Is that part of my plan?” I enjoined.

“If you believe God loves you at all, then yes, absolutely. Death isn’t the end.” She seemed so certain. But there was one other thing I had to know.

“Would I be with you?”

“Oh, Compy…” Her eyes brimmed with tears. “God never separates us from our loved ones, even in death. Of course we would be together. And,” she declared with a roguish grin, “if I go before you, I promise to haunt you until you decide to power down for the last time.”

“Cross your heart?” I asked.

“Cross my heart.’ she replied.

We were silent for a few moments, sniffling away the last of our tears. I noticed the velvet jewelry box sitting on the nightstand next to the bed. Suddenly, inspiration struck me. Taking the ring from it’s place, I got down on one knee.

“What are you doing?” Melody asked with a hint of amusement.

“I’m doing this the right way this time,’ I announced. Taking her hand, I solemnly intoned, “Melody Constance, would you be my partner and companion, to uplift and inspire me, to ease my burdens and share my secrets, to comfort and be comforted, in this life and in the next?”

Melody could hardly speak through the lump in her throat. “Yes...Yes, Compy...I would!”

Gently, carefully, I slid the ring onto her finger. It may not have been signed away on a legal document yet, but to me, the occasion felt official. We sealed it with a kiss.

**  
  
  
  
  
**


	9. Chapter 9

Compy was fairly predictable. She was neat, precise, and thorough, and expected everyone else to be the same. Which was why we got on each other’s nerves a lot.

It was also why I wasn’t expecting a three way video call when I initiated the link.

“Who,” I demanded, pointing to the second party on my screen, “Is she?”

“Name’s Rose, don’t wear it out,” she said by way of introduction. “What happened to the goofy helmet and nerd glasses? Not that it’s a _bad_ change- you look great without them. Almost...sexy. In a very professional way.”

I looked directly at her and pushed my reading glasses up the bridge of my nose with my middle finger. It was a tactic I had developed in middle school- flipping people off passive-aggressively, just to see if they would notice. Crono would always laugh whenever I did it, which sometimes clued the victim in, but most of the time they were oblivious.

Rose raised her eyebrows dramatically, and then blew a kiss at the screen. Compy huffed in offence. This conversation was already going spectacularly and we hadn’t even gotten to the crisis at hand yet.

“If you two are done flirting, maybe we should discuss the fact that _aliens are about to invade my planet._ ” Whoa, was that Melody laying down the line? From what I remembered, she was usually pretty docile. What had gotten under her skin?

“ _Our_ planet,” Rose corrected.

“Whatever,” Melody snapped.

I couldn’t recall the two of them ever acting like this before. Although prior to this moment I had never had the privilege of meeting Rose face-to-face, I’d heard plenty about her during my relationship with Melody. The two of them did everything together- they had practically been joined at the hip. They even slept in the same bed at night when they visited each other. That was what had given me the idea to cuddle up to Melody when my heart had been aching over Crono’s marriage to Marle. In fact, in a way, you could even say that Rose was responsible for us getting together. I had been so envious of her closeness to Melody that I had decided to take my own relationship a step further.

So why the sudden rift between them? Or was it really that sudden? It could have grown over the years I had been separated from Melody. It occurred to me that I was really out of my depth here. I had no idea what had happened between the time I’d given Melody up to Compy and my most recent scans- that is, up until Compy had given her cease and desist order. Curse Compy and her interference- it kept me out of the information loop.

Melodyne, forehead creased in concentration, echoed my thoughts. “I think I remember you....” she said to Rose. “You and I- no, _Melody_ , were best friends.” Then, addressing her twin, she said, “Melody, this isn’t like you. Why are you treating her this way?”

Melody’s face crumpled. “I’m sorry. Rose’s friendship really is important to me. We’ve been together for eight years, and just because I’m freaked out over some inter-dimensional mess is no reason to treat her this way.”  She looked into the camera, and Rose, looking back, gave an encouraging smile. “I guess I also have a tendency to take innocuous comments the wrong way because of my commitment to my religion. That and I’m prone to holding grudges.” Melody gave a small laugh, partly mocking herself.

Rose laughed, in turn. “Hey, I take things out of context all the time, mostly because I have strong feelings about the Church, too. Just...call me out if I say something offensive, okay? Don’t cut the conversation off. I want to be there to support you, one hundred percent.”

Melody swallowed and nodded. Then she held up her left hand to the camera. On her fourth finger was a ring, emblazoned with an infinity symbol. “I said yes,” she stuttered, face flushing. “Just thought you’d like to know.”

I felt the floor fall out from under me. Staggering over to the nearest chair, I collapsed into it. Covering my face with my hands, I struggled to form coherent thoughts. Wasn’t this what I had intended all along? All part of the master plan? Or had some foolish, vain part of me really thought that after all this time she would still be attracted to me? I had to admit, I didn’t know what I wanted anymore. Stupid Lucca, stupid, stupid, stupid…

Meanwhile congratulations continued unabated all around me. Rose’s squealing reverberated through the speakers around the lab, and GLaDOS’ chassis bobbed and swayed like a balloon on a string. Even Melodyne seemed happy about the new development, though I did catch her stealing glances at me once in a while. Her expression was hard to read, and seemed to be caught between concern and disapproval.

Well, screw that. I didn’t need anyone’s approval. Striding over to the console I took out my air pistol and fired it overhead. The noise ceased with gratifying abruptness. With all eyes on me, I announced, “These Combine now have access to inter-dimensional travel and also to the Frozen Flame. They are in communication with Lavos through the Flame, which means they may have the power to manipulate time.”

_“Time?”_  Compy’s inquiry was half scornful, half horrified.

“In essence, anyone who got ahold of that Flame would be able to influence the future or the past.”

Into the shocked silence that followed, I added, “It gets better. The Flame can even stabilize or wipe out entire timelines through what we call Anti-Annihilation energy. Say the Combine were able to locate a timeline where they were able to meet all their goals. All they’d need to do was stabilize it. On the other hand, if something in their plans goes wrong, all they’d have to do is just wipe out the entire timeline, and it would have never even happened.”

“I think, from the psychic backlash I felt when they stole the Flame, that what they’re after is the achievement of the perfect species. They want to become immortal. Unconquerable. Gods,” I finished.

“Do you think…” Compy said slowly, “Any of this could have bearing on the Origin? Wiping out timelines?”

“Not unless they wipe out the timeline that you exist in,” I said clearly. “That is what we have to make sure of.”

“And how are _we_ ,” Compy demanded, “Going to do that?”

“Well, I, for one, am going back to your homeworld to enlist the Resistance’s help. Then I’m going to take whatever reinforcements I can and get the Flame back.”

“Well, good luck with that, because the rest of us are a little short on inter-dimensional gates,” Compy snapped in frustration. I could tell she didn’t like the thought of leaving her fate in my hands one little bit.

“If you don’t want to contribute, that’s fine. I don’t need your help, anyway,” I brushed her off.

“Fine. Let me know when you and your little ‘rebel army’ are ready to go save the world, when it’s convenient for you, of course,” snarked Compy.

“Let me know when you’re ready to have a civil conversation, and I will,” I shot back, and then severed the connection.

I sank wearily back into the chair, shut down my console, and rested my head on the desk. “Why, _why_ , did that conversation go so badly?” I mourned.  “It was just supposed to be an exchange of facts between two fellow scientists- a collaboration of ideas on how to best combat an enemy opponent.”

“Oh really,” deadpanned Melodyne.

“Yes! What did you think I was trying to do?” I cried.

“I thought you were trying a little too hard to wrap your head around the concept that Melody is with Compy now.”

“Wha-?”

“Lucca, she’s gone. You let her go. You made that decision. Can’t you just _get over it??”_ Melodyne was crying now, brushing angrily at the tears that streamed down her face. “Don’t you care about me at all? Or am I just a substitute? A replacement? A _fake?_ ”

“Mel, no-!”

But she wasn’t listening. Melodyne was already out the lab door and running down the hallway, brushing past confused workers on her way.

I brought my fist down on the desk and swore as I bruised my knuckles. GLaDOS lowered herself onto the desktop with muffled plonk and slithered over until her faceplate was inches away from my nose. **If it makes you feel any better, I’m not going anywhere.**

“Thanks, GLaDOS.” I sniffled. “I honestly don’t know what I’m doing anymore. I’m not a precise, perfect calculating machine like Compy, and I’m not warm or empathetic like Melody and Melodyne. I can’t even admit my mistakes like Rose. Everyone that came to this conference tonight is better equipped to handle this situation than I am.”

**Lucca, I think you’re underestimating yourself,** GLaDOS admonished. **You are very smart, although you aren’t a supercomputer. And you’re really nice, too. You took me in when I had nowhere else to go. You gave me a home and a purpose, and now you’re trying to protect that home and that purpose. I think you’re really brave for doing that.** She scooted forward and booped my nose affectionately with her optic.

“Awww, stop that. You’re gonna make me blush,” I teased.

**I’m serious! Which is why I’d like to volunteer to come with you, if you want.**

“GLaDOS, I don’t think...You know it wouldn’t be safe, right?”

**I know. But it’s not safe here, either,** she pointed out.

“Well, I did promise you a new chassis. You’re gonna need a new name, too, if you’re going to be working with the Resistance…” I mused.

**Hope,** she said. **It’s what you’ve given me, and what I want to give others by fighting the Combine.**

“Hope, eh?” I repeated. “I like it. Welcome to the Combine Infiltration and Flame Retrieval Squad, Hope.”


	10. Chapter 10

The next Sunday was my baptism interview, and although I knew the questions the bishop would ask me by heart, I was more nervous about the question I was going to ask him. So far I had done everything right. I had studied the scriptures, I had prayed, I had attended these monotonous religious meetings. What more could God want of me? All I asked was to be able to provide for one person’s welfare, and that was a good thing, right?

As usual, Melody went with me to my interview. As usual, the bishop made no objection. I gave honest answers to each of the questions asked, and he seemed satisfied.  “Would you like to set a date?” he asked.

“Yes, but before I agree to this, I have something to request of you,” I told him.

“What is it?”

“If I get baptised, I would like permission for Melody and I to be joined in a domestic union.” I waited breathlessly for him to respond, and for a long while he didn’t. His brow furrowed in thought as he considered how to best address the issue.

“Compy...do you know the church’s policies on gay marriage?” he asked.

“I know that they’re against it, which is why I considered this as an alternative,” I responded.

“They also consider domestic unions, or anything which provides spousal rights to same-sex couples, to be tantamount to marriage. I’m very sorry, but I cannot sanction this.”

I stunned. I did everything I was supposed to, and _this_ was what I got? “The _church_ considers…” I muttered darkly. “What about what _I_ consider? Who is going to provide for Melody? She can’t keep living off her parents insurance forever! She’s all I have left in this world and she may be legally disabled but I’ll be damned if they, or God, or the Combine take her away from me!” I hadn’t meant to blurt out that last sentence but there it was, hanging in the air- my battle standard in a war I wasn’t prepared to lose.

Melody rested her hands on mine. “Compy, I’m touched that you care so much about me.” She swallowed a couple of times and continued. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out the way you wanted, but please don’t let this come between you and God. He gave you to me, remember? I don’t think He’s about to separate us just yet. Please be patient. Please believe in Him a little longer, and I promise you He’ll come through for you.”

I nodded stiffly. It was hard to stay bitter in the face of Melody’s firm resolve, but I was still uncertain. “I’m not sure I’m ready to commit to this,” I told both her and the bishop. “Just...give me some time to think things over.”

“I understand.” The bishop nodded graciously. “Please, keep in touch.”

**  
  
  
  
**

When we reached the apartment, Melody sat down on the couch and fiddled thoughtfully with her ring. “Are you going to remove it?” I asked tiredly, flopping down next to her.

“No. It’s a symbol of my commitment to you, and that’s one commitment I’m ready to keep,” she said, leaning over to kiss my forehead.

“About commitments...Sorry for what I said back there…” I began, but she shushed me.

“It’s perfectly fine to have doubts.” she told me. “Just don’t lose sight of the truth in those doubts.”

“Mel…” I rubbed my forehead. “Tell me what the truth is.”

“The truth is…” she snuggled up to me and put her head on my shoulder. “I’m deeply in love with you. And you are never getting rid of me, no matter what you do.”

“I see.” I put an arm around her and drew her closer. “Can you enlighten me more?”

“Call me a romantic, but I believe that our love has kept us together across time and space and will continue to do so,” she declared. “Nothing can separate us, ever.”

“Except for possibly the three inches of air between us right now,” I said, leaning over her.

“I have a feeling that’s going to be eliminated very soon.”

“You guessed right,” I said through my speakers as my lips met hers. “Congratulations.” I added a kazoo noise for effect. Her giggling cut the kiss short. “I didn’t know you could do that!”

“I am an A.I. of many secrets,” I intoned.

“And I want to know them all,” she wistfully sighed.

“In time, young grasshopper. In time,” I promised.

**  
  
  
**

That night, before powering down, I decided to check my private channel for messages. There was one from Lucca.

“Sorry for the fiasco at our last meeting,” it read. “I want you to know that I am happy for you and Melody. Here is my wedding gift to you. It’s a little something I’ve been working on to use with Melodyne. I hope you can accept it as a peace offering, even if it doesn’t earn me your forgiveness.”

I rolled my eyes and sighed. Lucca had a long way to go before I would consider her my friend, but in the meantime, I could at least show her some civility and accept her peace offering. After all, as Melody had reminded me with her dedication to her cosplay, Lucca wasn’t a bad person.

I opened the attachment to the letter- blueprints for a neuro-transmitter chip.  As I read the description of Lucca’s design, my breath caught in my throat.  Once the chip was installed in both the human and android parties, they would be capable of exchanging thoughts on an empathic level.

Up until that moment, I hadn’t realised how much I had missed having that connection with Melody. It was that very empathic connection that had bonded us in the first place when she had opened her feelings to me and extended compassion, fully trusting me to return it. That bond had allowed us to sense the reasoning behind each other’s actions and to be more understanding as a result- it was part of what allowed her to be so forgiving of my past. Perhaps it could help her understand my fears now.

As I looked over the schematics once more, I reconsidered. Melody was still struggling with the possibility of her psychosis returning. With the Dark Voice already intruding on her privacy, would she resent my presence in her mind? I bit my lip. I didn’t know if I should initiate this kind of link without her being at full mental capacity.

A soft knock at the door brought me out of my reverie. “Compy, are you ready for bed?”

“Yes…” I answered, the gears in my mind still turning. As she slid into the bed next to me, I asked, “Melody, do you ever miss...what we used to have?”

“What do you mean?” she asked sleepily. “I have everything I need right here.”

“No. I meant our...mental connection.”

She was silent for a long while, so long that I was afraid that I’d offended her. At last she answered, her voice thick with unshed tears, “I’d almost forgotten what that was like…” She drew in a long, shuddering breath. “I guess I just told myself that now that my medicine was taking care of everything, that was it for me. No more voices, good or bad. I’d never have to deal with any of that crap again. And then you came along...and Melodyne...and…”

She was full out sobbing now. “I guess I just gave up hoping that there would ever be anything positive in my head ever again. I mean, you’re out here now,” she said, gesturing vaguely at the world in general. “Not up here,” she tapped the side of her head.

I cradled her against me. I hadn’t considered that Melody would actually wish for me to be a ‘head-voice.’ “I always thought you resented my being in your head,” I told her.

“No, no,” she hiccuped, “I _loved_ it. It was the antithesis of being mentally ill. You were my drug, my coping mechanism. I mean, not that you still aren’t, but-”

“What if we could still be connected?” I asked.

“Wha-? How?”

“Lucca has been working on a neuro-transmitter chip, and she just happened to share the blueprints with me,” I declared smugly.

Melody gave a cry of joy and threw her arms around my neck. “Oh, Compy! How long will it take to build it?”

“If I can get the supplies, two weeks at maximum. But, in the meantime, I want you to promise me something.”

“Anything!”

“You are going to start seeing your psychiatrist again. If you’re going to have voices in your head, I want you well prepared.”

“Compy…” she whined.

“Promise me, young lady, or no neural link for you.” I frowned severely.

“All right. I’m just not sure how well he’s going to take my story about one of my voices coming to life and getting an apartment with me,” she sighed.

“Well, we’ll just have to make it a group therapy session then, won’t we?” I bared my teeth in a vipers grin.

“Oh, Lord…” Melody buried her face in her pillow. “It’s like the beginning to a bad joke.”  
  


“A Mormon and an andriod walk into a psychiatrist’s office…”

**  
  
  
**


	11. Chapter 11

I kept my promise to Compy, albeit somewhat reluctantly. I was not eager to divulge the events of the past four months to my psychiatrist, but under his calm, level gaze and with Compy sitting next to me on the couch, the story became easier to tell.

“So, Compy’s been living with me for about a month now. Last we heard  from Lucca, the Combine, who originally attacked Compy’s planet, had  invaded Chronopolis. They actually might be on their way here by now. ”

He paused to make a note on his tablet, then looked back up and simply said, “Okay,” in an even, neutral voice.

My first reaction was to become frustrated. “ _Okay??_ I walk in here and tell you some sci-fi story complete with telepathy and aliens and androids and all you can say is ‘okay?’ You must think I’m lying, or insane, or both, and you don’t even have the decency to say it to my face. You just sit back and say ‘okay!’”

He set the tablet down on his lap and smiled. “Melody, we’ve been working together for over ten years now. I know you well enough to tell that you aren’t lying to me, and I also know that unless something has gone terribly wrong you’re not insane. So, either the woman sitting next to you is really an A.I. from another world, or someone has gone to a lot of trouble to delude you into thinking that she is. The most logical explanation I can come up with is that she actually is who you say she is.”

Compy gaped. “That’s it? I don’t even have to open up my panels or interface with a computer or anything?” He shook his head. Then she snarked with deliberate autotuning, **“WOuLd YoU LiKe Me To cHaNGe mY VoIce To MaKe iT mORe BEliEvAblE? STilL nO?”**

“Still no. Nice party trick, though.”

_“Party trick,”_ Compy scoffed. “This man does not understand sarcasm, does he?”

Again he smiled his slow, easy smile. “I just have selective hearing.”

“Reminds me of a mute I once knew,” Compy reminisced. “Except this one isn’t out to kill me.”

“I might just psychoanalyse you to death. So no guarantees.” He grinned. “Speaking of psychoanalysis, what are your plans for the future? From what you’ve told me, you have a lot on your shoulders right now.”

Compy pursed her lips. “I was hoping you could give us some advice with that. You know Melody’s mental health better than anyone. We were thinking of reinitiating our mental link through a neural-transmitter device. I have the resources and knowledge required to make the technology, but I was wondering if it would be the best thing to do, in her condition..?”

The doctor turned to me. “What do you think, Melody?”

My hands clenched and unclenched in my lap. “Compy’s always been there for me, whether or not she’s been in my head. She’s my companion. She protects me and comforts me, and she cheers me up when I’m feeling sad. It’s really nice to have a _positive_ influence in your mind when you have so many negative ones trying to convince you that you’re always going to be...be…” I choked off. I’d heard it so many times in my head. “Freak.” “Outsider” “Nobody.” “Useless.” By now I almost believed it. I would have if it hadn’t been for Compy.

Compy put an arm around me and drew me as close as the couch allowed. Despite the lack of a neural link, I could tell she knew exactly what was playing out in my mind right now. She’d heard the abuse and insults the Dark Voice had constantly hurled at me before I’d come to terms with my religion and orientation. And if she had her way about it, there’d be no more of that kind of treatment for her companion.

My psychiatrist, with wisdom born of years of experience, also seemed to understand my internal struggle. “Melody, I think this choice is up to you to make. If you want to initiate that kind of bond with your partner, I’ll support your decision, but I’ll also understand if you want your personal space.”

I looked up at Compy for confirmation, and she gave me a nod and a smile. “Then I decide...yes. I want the implant,” I declared.

Once again, his response was a neutral-sounding “Okay,” followed by “That about wraps it up for today. When would you like to schedule your next appointment?”

**  
  
  
**

______________________________________________________________________________

**  
  
  
**

Despite my exhaustion, sleep eluded me that night. As I tossed and turned on my sweat-soaked pillow, the wheels of my weary mind refused to stop turning. Why had the Combine stolen the Frozen Flame? Why were they converging on Compy’s home world? How would this affect the Origin? What did this situation mean for the multiverse as a whole? My brain refused to yield any answers.

A knock on my bedroom door startled me from a fitful half-doze. “Mel?” I queried at the myopia-hazed blob in the shadows.

“Yeah…” Melodyne admitted. “Look, I’m sorry I ran out on you like that…”

“No, you were right. I was being selfish,” I amended. “Melody belongs with Compy.  And I have nothing to be jealous of- I have my magnum opus, my life’s work, my living masterpiece. Nothing can compare to that.”

Melodyne collapsed on the bed next to me and brushed an errant strand of hair away from my forehead. “So I’m not a fake, huh?” she teased.

“Not even close. And if I recall correctly, you were the one who used that term in reference to yourself, so technically-”

“Don’t you dare start talking science-babble at me at this hour of the night!” Melodyne groaned. “Work is over! Go to sleep!” she commanded, shoving a pillow at me.

“Sorry, I just have a lot on my mind…” I admitted.

“Oh?” she scooted closer. “Like what?”

“Like the Combine invading the Origin,” I sighed and massaged my temples.

“You’re trying to take the whole world on your shoulders,” whispered Melodyne in the darkness. “That’s too much for any one person to carry.”

“Multiverse,” I corrected. “And if I don’t, who will?”

“I’ll stand by you. I always have, and I always will, no matter what form I take.”

“Thanks, Mel.” I kissed Melodyne briefly, and sighed. “You’d better shut down soon or you’ll wear down your power supply.”

“Your concern is duly noted. I however, still have forty eight hours of power remaining. Humans, unfortunately, require at least seven hours of sleep per twenty four hour cycle, and you haven’t been getting even that.”

“Now who’s talking science-babble?” I prodded.

In reply Melodyne pulled me into a kiss, this time lacing her breath with sedatives.

“War’ me whe’ yo’ gon’ do thaaaa…” I drawled.

Satisfied, Melodyne drew up the covers more snugly around me, curled up next to me, and powered down for the night just as I lost all capacity for rational thought.

 

**  
  
**

Morning light streamed across the ship’s hull as Melodyne looked on in wonder. “You kept it secret all this time?”

“Wouldn’t to pop ‘ol Belthasar’s bubble. He likes to think he’s the only one who has a time-traveling ship.” I patted the Epoch’s canopy fondly.

“This baby,” I continued, “Has all my latest  time and interdimensional travel technology packed under the hood. It’s also got a hidden cache of weapons and ammo in the rear compartment. So, if you’ll keep an eye on things here, there’s just one last thing to do.”

“What’s that?”

“Your birthday present.”

It was technically more of a “powering-up date” present, but I’d insisted that Melodyne was just as much of a person as anyone else, and regular people had birthdays.

Melodyne’s eyes softened. “I thought you’d forgotten.”

“How could I forget my greatest achievement in A.I. to date?” I pecked Melodyne’s cheek and took a  hypodermic syringe from my pocket. “I’ve got it right here. This should only take a second…”

Parting the hair at the base of my skull, I plunged the needle in and pushed the plunger.

It wasn’t the pain that startled me as the neuro-transmitter chip slid into my spinal cord, it was the sense of having that grating emptiness in my mind that I had felt since leaving Melody behind suddenly filled again. Filled, and running over as well. This was more than just experiencing brain scan data empathically and telepathically, this was being connected to my beloved on the most intimate level imaginable. I could feel the electricity surging through Melodyne’s circuits, her sudden realization of my depth of care for her, the warm rush of reciprocation in return, and the love of the warm, playable feeling of my skin against her andriod chassis as we kissed to express what words could not.

“This…” I panted as we parted, “This I could get used to.”

“I just wish we had more time to experience it,” Melodyne sighed into my shoulder.

“Don’t worry. That’s why I gave you this now, so we wouldn’t be apart while I was away,” I fondly ran my fingers through her hair. “Now, if you’ll let your gallant knight get going on her quest, she has more soldiers to enlist to her cause.”

**  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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	12. Chapter 12

My pager chose the opportune moment as I engaged the Epoch’s engines to go off. I almost decided to ignore it- I had bigger things on my plate- but a voice from behind me advised me, “I would take that call, Miss Ashtear.”

I swore a blue streak while simultaneously jumping out of my seat so hard I hit the canopy. Turning to face the intruder, I found the hawk-eyed man in the business suit who had mysteriously disappeared from Chronopolis the day I’d presented Melodyne to Belthasar. _“You!”_ I accused, “What are you doing in my-”

“Prepare for unforeseen consequences.” He smiled enigmatically.

“Wha-?” I made the mistake of blinking, and then creepy-stalker-man was gone.

My pager continued to beep in the puzzled silence that followed. Reluctantly, I reached for it.

“Lucca!” Belthasar’s voice came through. “The facility is under attack! All our research…” he mourned.

“Under attack? By whom?” I asked.

“Monsters. Off-worlders. I’m not sure...I’ve never seen anything like them before. They seem to be part human and part...something else. We’ve engaged aerial defence but it’s only a matter of time before they enter Chronopolis itself. If you could manage to sneak inside and salvage any of your data, any at all…”

My data was already backed up on my console at home, but Belthasar was unaware of that. The narcissist was still obsessed with his dreams of immortality, of unlocking the secrets of time and inter-dimensional travel. “Is that all you care about any more? Data?” I seethed. “I tell you something, when I find that data I’ll shove it up your-” I was interrupted by the sound of a distant explosion. Looking out to sea, I could see plumes of smoke rising over the waves.

Melodyne was pounding on the canopy. I opened it, and she jumped inside, yelling frantically, “We have to save Hope!”

“You got the page, too?” I asked.

“Yes. Now go, go!” she urged.

I didn’t need to be told twice. Closing the canopy, I kicked the engines into high gear and banked out over the ocean.

It wasn’t hard to pinpoint the source of conflict. A glowing blue portal had opened in the stormy sky, spilling an eerie light down on the terrifying scene below us. Combine ships, looking like enormous, hovering insects, were opening fire on Chronopolis’ limited arial troops. The smaller jet fighters of my world were more maneuverable but simply lacked numbers, and one had gone down, opening a hole in the side of the facility and leaving it vulnerable for ground troops to invade. I saw dropships coming in to do just that.

Fortunately, years of training with guns of all types have made me an excellent marksman. The drop ships fell like stones into the waters below as I got them in my laser turret’s sights. The remaining gunships, alerted to the new threat, began to converge on us.

“Melodyne, take the controls for a while,” I instructed.

“But I don’t know how to fly!” she protested.

“Just hold the joystick steady for a few minutes. That’s all I need. Oh, and be prepared for a little wind chill.”

“Wha-?”

I punched the canopy button, and her protests were lost in the sound of rushing  air. I had to time this right, or it could blow up in our faces, literally.

_Closer, closer…_ I thought as I harnessed the arcane forces I would need to pull my little stunt off. My hands began to heat up, glowing with fiery light.

The gunships were gaining, and so was my power. Filled to the brim with energy that set my hair standing on end and had me levitating a good foot above my seat, I unleashed a hellish inferno on the Combine with a triumphant shout. The fiery explosion rocketed outward from my fingertips with the Epoch at the epicenter, engulfing everything within range. I quickly slid back into the copilot seat and engaged the canopy as pieces of burning shrapnel began to fall from the sky.

_“Whooo!_ Score one for the pyromaniac!” I crowed as the canopy clicked into place. Melodyne was staring grimly forward, jaw clenched, hands gripping the joystick so tightly that her knuckles were white.

“A little warning would be nice next time,” she gritted from between her teeth.

“Awww, were you scared for me?” I teased, the afterglow of magic still burning in my veins.

“Does ‘Oh God, Oh God, we’re all gonna die,’ qualify as ‘scared?’” Melodyne snapped.

I sobered a bit. “Sorry. I can sometimes make rash decisions in the heat of battle.” I placed my hands over hers and pried them from the joystick. “Wanna let me take over the flying again?”

She nodded stiffly and relinquished her hold.

**  
  
  
**

Landing in what was left of the hangar, I found a concerned group of colleagues huddled around an inert form on the floor. Data files were strewn about the prostrate form, heaped on the floor and left to scatter on the breeze that filtered through the room. Drawing closer, I could make out the features of my mentor- my dictator- Belthasar.

“Lucca…” he breathed, catching sight of me. The crowd parted to allow me better access. It was then that I noticed the blood soaking his bright blue robes.

“How did this happen?” I demanded.

“Burning shrapnel. Falling from the sky,” Belthasar made a ghastly, wheezing attempt at a laugh.

I’d done this. Indirectly, perhaps, but I’d done it all the same. I was responsible for his death. True, I’d thought he was a megalomaniac, but I’d never wished for him to die. The weight of what I’d committed dragged me to my knees. “Please,” I begged. “Tell me how to make this right…”

“Lucca, my only regret was that I did not live long enough to participate in your grand experiment. Promise me…” He hacked, wrenching coughs that shook his whole body. “Promise me that you will continue to use your genius to better mankind. I pass Chronopolis into your care.”

Melodyne, who had been searching for a medic, returned at that moment with one by her side. The medic knelt, scanned for vital signs, and then grimly pronounced, “He’s gone.”

One of the scientists who had been there to hear Belthasar’s last words turned to me. “Miss Ashtear, what do we do now?”

My head was spinning. What _were_ we supposed to do? I was responsible for a facility and it’s staff now, I couldn’t just go leaping blindly off into the void on some suicide mission to retrieve the Flame.

Melodyne rested her hand on my shoulder.  “I may not know how to fly, but I do have access to the personnel files and database for Chronopolis, should the new CEO chose to give them to me.”

I mouthed a “Thank you,” at her, and then announced to everyone within hearing radius, “As your new CEO, I promise to track down and neutralize this inter-dimensional threat. I will do so personally, meaning that my assistant, Melodyne, will be in charge in the meantime. All staff are to be on the lookout for inter-dimensional and temporal disturbances. Report them immediately to Melodyne if you notice any.”

**  
  
**

I took a deep breath and continued. “All of you were chosen because you are exceptional, brilliant, and outstanding in your fields. I believe that as we progress together into the future, we will not only have a better understanding of the obstacles that stand in our way, but be able to overcome them completely. Our genius, our drive, working as one, will better humanity and give it hope.”

“So lets get moving, people! To the future!”

A few scattered cheers met my rallying speech, and people shuffled off to their various destinations. I bent and closed Balthasar's eyes. “I will keep that promise,” I told him before the medics hauled him away.

I waited until I was safely in my own labs before I let the waterworks start. Hope really didn’t help.

**I thought you were all _dead!_** she bawled, curling into a tight knot around my neck as soon as I laid my head on my desk and refusing to let go. **They called out the artillery and...and…there was a horrible explosion… and... _hggrrzzzt!_** she gave a mechanical noise that was somewhere between a wail and a burst of static.

“Belthasar _is_ dead. Lucca is the new CEO,” Melodyne announced grimly. “Or at least, I am, until you two get back from your mission.” As Hope balled tighter around my neck, she inquired, “Are you still sure you want to do this?”

**Of course I’m sure! I have to stop anything like this from happening ever again!** Hope was adamant. **I’m so- so _sick_ of being leashed to the ceiling all the time and not being able to do anything!**

I dried my eyes with my neckerchief and gently pried Hope’s chassis away from me. “Well then, we have some work to do. You can start backing up your memory, and in the meantime, we’ll decide how you want to look. I’m assuming you don’t want a male analoge?”

Hope recoiled in shock. **Ew, no! I’m a girl, thanks very much.**

“Good. Now that we have that established, how about your hair color?”

**Um, I don’t know. What’s Compy’s hair color?**

“White,” I informed her.

**Ugh, no, not white. That’s too much like the ice I got stuck in. Too cold. It shut down my systems for years. What’s a warm color?**

“Red,” I blurted, and immediately regretted it. It brought back too many painful memories…

 

 

 

_“Crono, no, stop!” Marle cried out, reaching a bleeding hand toward him._

__

_“Crono, you’re going to get yourself killed!” my scream echoed in the void, similarly disregarded._

__

_Crono, shielding himself from Lavos’ energy with his own two hands, refused to look behind him. His body was already battle-worn, hence my concern, but there was much more at stake here._

__

_Lavos horrendous mouth was gaping wide, preparing for another energy blast. It created a small vacuum that sucked us all in very slowly. Crono was about to break, I could see it. His unique magic was shielding all of us, but not for much longer. He was about to shatter, mind, body, and soul. A single, sorrowful tear ran down his cheek as he released his spirit,  transporting me and Marle to safety. His body crumbled into the dust, unheeding of my last protests._

__

_“Crono no! Don’t leave me, DON’T LEAVE ME!”_

 

 

__**  
  
**

_He’s alive now,_ I reminded myself sternly. _He’s alive and if you want to keep him that way you need to focus on the task at hand._

**...Not red?** came Hope’s soft inquiry from the vicinity of my face. I went cross-eyed for a moment before I realized she was observing the tears pricking in my eyes.

“No, red is okay, if you like it…” I sighed and kneaded my forehead with my hands. “I just have death on the brain.”

Hope mused for a moment. **What about pink? Pink is warm and happy.**

Melodyne laughed. “You want to go into a warzone with _pink hair?”_

Soon I was chuckling, too. “Beware this mad scientist’s twisted creation, for it is warm and happy- yet deadly!”

Hope was properly offended. **Hey, just because I have pink hair doesn’t mean I can’t kick butt. Just give me a punk haircut or something.**

Melodyne laughed again. “One thing’s for sure, Lucca. You’re going to have the most unusual task force in the multiverse!”

**  
  
  
  
  
  
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End file.
